Many mobile devices are equipped with both a front camera with a view of the user and a rear camera with a view of the background or what lies in front of the user. The front camera is typically used for video telephone calls and portraits of the user and friends, while the rear camera is typically used more as a conventional still and video camera. In some devices, it is possible to stream video from the rear camera to another user through a cellular, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth radio connection. However, it is not possible or feasible to use both cameras of the mobile device simultaneously. Such devices currently include cellular telephones, portable media players, and tablet computers, however, as device classifications change and develop, the particular names, types, and features of mobile devices and of cameras may change as well.
In current mobile devices, a user may view an image or video recorded by one of the cameras on the device's display. This view may be combined with camera controls, communication controls, and an image or video from another device. For example, when used as a still camera, the device's display functions as a viewfinder and control interface. The user sees first sees the camera's view of the scene before it and capture controls for exposure, focusing, color balance, etc. After the image is captured, the user typically sees the captured image with viewing and editing controls on the same screen.
When used as a video telephone, the display shows a video of the remote party and, in some cases, a video also of the user superimposed on the screen. However, these devices do not permit the display to show captured images from both cameras on the same display at the same time. They also do not permit images captured from the two cameras at the same time to be transmitted to another mobile device. This limits the usefulness of the two cameras on the mobile device.